True Economic Stimulus

It has been over 6 months, since George Bush went in front of the entire nation and told us all that we are all screwed. He succeeded in putting the nation into a panic setting the stage for an unprecedented flurry of government spending. After 1/2 a year of spending, none of the stimulus has had any impact whatsoever. Employment continues to rise, housing prices plummet, and GDP is still shrinking.

The underlying theory behind the “shop til you drop” stimulus plan is Keynesian economics which became popular during the last depression. Unfortunately, Keynesian economics will nor work this time. The primary reason is that the United States is broke. In the last 50 years, our great country has been transformed from the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation. We are broke, and we are addicted to spending more money than we have. Addicted is the only appropriate word, and like an addict, there is only one solution. We must wean ourselves from the addiction, rather than borrow more money. Obama and Bush have been feeding the addiction.

Rather than harp on our addiction and the root causes, there are actually practical measures that can be done to give the economy true economic stimulus.

Legal Immigration

America is perhaps the most desireable country to visit in the entire world. American movies and music extends the American brand throughout every nook and cranny in the world. At a very early age, no matter what country, children are exposed to America. There are millions of foreigners that would love to visit the United States. DisneyLand is the on top of many of the lists.

This is balanced by the fact that the United States is perhaps the most difficult country in the world to visit. We are returning to the United States for 4 months in April and we wanted my mother in law to come as well. We tried to get a tourist visa for her, but she was denied. Note: my wife was denied twice before she was allowed to enter the country. Here in Brazil, I literally know dozens of people that have been denied tourist visas. I really do not think that I am unusual and it easy to imagine millions and millions of people that would like to visit our country.

So my first proposal is to significantly expand the tour visa program. This is true economic stimulus. The tourists come to the country to do one thing. Spend money. Tourism can be viewed as an export that will be exchanging their home currency for dollars. It will help the airline industry, the rental car industry, hotel industry and on and on.

I am not saying we should throw the baby out with the bath water. There are legitimate reasons why the restrictions on tourists visas are so tight, but it is too tight. There are just too many legitimate people being denied that only want to spend money in our country. Let’s let them, and the stimulus will be immediate.

Hemp and Marijuana Production

Hemp is one of the most durable and flexible substances in the world. But in the United States, hemp production is illegal. Hemp can be used to make paper, rope, fuel (yes energy!), plastic, etc. Hemp is also one of the lowest cost substances to grow and nurture. Its maturation period is low, and it is resistant many types of insects and diseases that plague many other crops. The benefits of industrial hemp production would be enormous.

Furthermore the stimulus would be enormous. The US would begin to build the infrastructure to produce useful products from one of the world’s strongest and plentiful crops. It would make many products more affordable, and put the United States on a more level playing field with more progressive nations that have been producing and exporting hemp based products for centuries.

It all seems ludicrous, but there is one thing holding us back. Paranoia about marijuana. I think paranoia is the right word because our hesitance is irrational and certainly not based on fact. Unlike legal substances such as alcohol and nicotine, marijuana is non addictive. Furthermore, the health effects of abuse of marijuana are minor when compares to those of its legal brethren. On top of all of this, we as a society have already determined the inconsistencies in our laws. Surveys show that over 1/2 of Americans have smoked marijuana at some time in their lives. That’s right, more people have smoked marijuana than have smoked cigarettes.

Because marijuana use is so widespread, and yet remains illegal, our government spends huge amounts of money keeping up the charade of illegality. Literally millions and millions of dollars are wasted in a futile attempt to sustain marijuana’s illegal image. Worse yet, this story has made a huge turn for the worse. Due the widespread use of marijuana, billions of dollars are being spent outside of the system, and landing in the hands of truly lawless drug lords. The violence has escalated to unfathomable levels, where literally dozens of people are killed in horrific and very public manners.

There is only one intelligent solution to all of this. We need to make marijuana legal. If we have the wisdom and consistency to fight the irrational religious right, this one act could potentially turn around the entire economy. Allowing hemp to be a true crop will open up many new industries. Allowing marijuana to be purchased legally will allow our police to refocus on the truly pressing issues related to our safety. Furthermore, the revenues from marijuana would be moved from soulless thugs to law abiding citizens. Furthermore, the taxes from marijuana would signficantly eat into the federal and local government deficits.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, the country needs real stimulus. The Bush/Obama plan is artificial at best and at worst misguided. Look how much money taxpayers have already lost on AIG executive bonuses. If we have the political will, we can change our country for true stimulus and take the first step toward prosperity.